42 Marine

A Little Breakthrough »

February 12, 2012

Travel from skiing in the rocky mountains at 13,000 ft down to sea level in a matter of days did a number on my sinuses and kept me in bed most of the time we were off the water, but the sailing during the Melges 20 Winter Regatta was much better than forecast and provided a nice distraction from the biology experiment going on in my head.  Sandwiched in between the highly competitive Gold Cup in December, and what will be the highly competitive Bacardi Cup in March, the February event typically allows some teams to work on areas of improvement in a more relaxed racing environment.  With 38 boats, and 2 days of intense practice with several coach boats on the scene, it did not take long to figure out that there was going to be nothing relaxing about this event, and we were going to have to give each other a slap in ass, buckle our chin straps and do our best to be highly competitive.

Outside of the impressive increase in boats from year to year, the biggest change in the Melges 20 is that you can no longer get away with being right or sailing well 70-80% of the time, it is now a 90-100% of the time thing, which is bad news for our team on M and M since I have been an 82% kind of guy most of my life.  The moment you make a mistake with tactics or boathandling, there are 10 teams that are doing it better and it does not take long to “wave ‘em by.”  But having both McKee brothers on either side of you on the starting line, numerous college all-americans and some of Italy’s best talent is what makes this fleet so great, even if our goal of cracking the top ten is that much harder.

The biggest downer for our team this season has been when we come off the water a little more optimistic about our overall position than what the score sheet actually reveals.  We do some things really well, we always battle hard in the top half of the fleet, but whether it is losing a few right at the finish, or bleeding a few boats with a silly mistake, our name is always next to a number in the low-teens.  After the 4 race, first day of this event, there was that familiar sinking feeling as we had to scroll down a little further than we would have liked and found ourselves in 12th place.  To the confusion of the others hovering around the notice board perusing the results, I let out a loud, “What’s it gonna take!!??”, hung my head and gave the report to the team.   The good news is that the Coconut Grove Sailing Club bar is only a staircase away from the official notice board, and after buying our tuning friends on Argo a few rounds for poking Jason with our bow sprit on a set during the last race, our disappointment vanished at the same rate as our cold ones.

Day 2 brought high winds and cold temperatures hovering around 45 degrees and PRO Bruce Golison postponed until noon which allowed the temps to rise and the wind to die below class maximums.  The fleet was not taking any chances and teams were busy tightening diamond stays, switching to their small spinnakers and doing thorough equipment checks.  The scene on the racecourse was a different story as there were some decent puffs, but the breeze was very unsettled and there were lulls to 8 kts which had a lot of teams quickly changing their set-ups prior to the start.  The thought on our boat was to hedge being set up more for the lulls as we could depower more easily in the puffs, than we could power-up in the lulls.

Things looked grim off the start of the first race of the day as we went all-in on the right side of the course and had to wait longer than expected for it to pay, but once near the top of the course, our rightie came in and we were able to round in the top 8.  From there, we sailed our best race to date as we passed some really good boats, sailed smart and clean and took a hard earned 4th place. At the start of the final race, we had a tough start at the pin, battled hard to round in the top ten and hung on for a 10th, and after being miffed about losing our pals on Red Sky on 2nd upwind, we did well to fend off a few others and stay close to the leaders.  Once we de-rigged the boat, I busted out my i-phone and cautiously looked at the results…down, down….10th!  Sure, am I a little excited for getting 10th, yes, but after getting over our personal hurdle, it felt good to have a strong last day and make the press release.  Now it is time to build on this and get ready for a solid event in just under a month which will be the largest Melges 20 event ever.

As always, the Coconut Grove Sailing Club and PRO Bruce Golison put on an awesome event.  During the skippers meeting, commodore Ron Rostorfer started the meeting with, “Welcome to CGSC.  Our mission is to provide a great racing experience.”  As a competitor, you can’t help but be encouraged by an organization that is set on making the sailors happy.  It is no coincidence they are attracting new members an upgrading their facilities every time we visit.

Photos, Results here.

 

 

 

Conched Out »

January 22, 2012

The final finishing gun has sounded, the Green Parrot has run out of rum, and the roosters of Duval Street have given a final cocka-doodle-doo to mark the end of the 25th anniversary of Key West Race Week.  What inadvertently turned out to be one of the greatest editions thus far with perfect sailing conditions and a lay day due to lack of wind in the middle of the week, this event never disappoints and the only shame is that more US sailors were not here to partake; it’s the best event our country has to offer and for reasons that cannot be pinpointed, the weekend warriors that are the lifeblood of US Sailing are watching from afar.  The top-end programs are still attending, and KWRW is important for pro-sailors as it serves as a huge networking opportunity with owners and team managers actively setting schedules and ramping up for the year of racing, but the legions of PHRF and one-design sailors from the great white north that can typically be seen listening to Jimmy Buffet and lounging on their boats for hours after racing have become rare.  KWRW built up a reputation of being on a bucket list for many sailors around the globe, and fingers crossed, whatever chased away the common sailor will have passed by next year’s edition.

In early December, it looked liked I would be watching from the sidelines as the Volpe Melges 32 team was not planning to attend and most other teams I talked with were using this event to try out new team members to start priming for the Worlds coming up in September.  Getting nervous that my string of 5 KWRW’s in a row was coming to an end, I lobbed a facebook IM of “what are you doing for KW?” to Bora, and plans were quickly in place to get a team together on his 24, assuming he could dig it out of a frozen shed in Michigan.

I had not sailed with Bora up to this point, but duking it out with him in years past, I knew I would be learning a lot throughout the week and we would have a shot to win.  With Bora’s “do whatever it takes” attitude to get on the starting line, I also knew that I would be taking a trip back to the grassroots, get-on-the-water and get-racing-at-all-costs type of mentality that seems to have been lost in recent years.   I didn’t think I would miss the college sailing days of cramped sleeping quarters, lurking around other teams houses’ like tarpon under a dock in search of dinner, or giving an audible “sweet!” when discovering a day old slice of pizza on a cluttered kitchen counter before anyone else, but it just shows that if you have a fun team at a great venue, not much else matters…now if I can just find those 1,000 thread count bed sheets, my slippers and mint scented bubble-bath when I get home.

The reward for our tight living quarters was a highly competitive team and sailing conditions that any sailor dreams of.  After hiccup in our results on Day 3 with a 6th place, we were able to return to our winning ways and take a few more bullets, and only needing to grab a 4th or better on Friday, we nabbed a 2nd and got the job done with a race spare.  The 24 fleet was a fraction of the size from years past, but with a few top teams in attendance, the racing was still as good as ever and hopefully the 24s will flock back to this event in coming years.  For anyone pondering…it is worth it.

Like a Packer fan at an all-u-can eat buffet, we were welcomed to Key West with open arms and after partaking in the bounty at hand, we all parted ways exhausted, smiling, thankful for the memories, and very excited to get home.   Once the 24 was all put to bed on the trailer, we made way to the Halfshell Raw Bar for a few frosty pitchers and ensuing Gentleman’s chugs, and from the naming of Biscuit, to the discount double-checks, Troll’s unruly sanitary behavior, Andrew’s snoring and Bora’s weak coffee, new inside jokes will be shared the next time our paths cross, and if real friends were counted like they are on facebook, each of our tallies went up by a few.

 

 

Picket Fence »

January 17, 2012

Nervous about a bleak forecast the remainder of the week, the RC on the Melges 24 and 32 circle moved up our leisurely start time and packed in 3 races on day 2 in a 8-12 kt SE breeze with lumpy, confused seas.  After being more disorganized getting off the dock than what is preferred, we managed to pull our act together and take a bullet in the first race of the day, and narrowly avoided a motivational speech I had teed-up had we taken a bad result.  Having instituted a fine for anyone who was late for dock-off, the offending parties will have a hefty tab to pay at the end of the week, and had I given my speech, it would have involved something like being late and disorganized is not a good way to start a day. Racing is hard enough as it is.

Our biggest strength to this point has been getting off the line punched with the boats around us and letting our speed go to work. There was a little adverse current in all 3 starts today, and it seemed the fleet was having a hard time getting to the line.  We did a nice job of getting moving early, using a high build when needed and making a nice timed run for the line when it was time to race.  From there, most of the races have been on repeat as it has been a race to the left corner, tack near lay and round in the top group. The last race of the day was a great battle with the team on WTF, and after fighting off a mild bout of paranoia and battling through a few tense moments, we crossed line for our 5th straight bullet of the event.

If the forecast holds for tomorrow, it will allow for sailors at Key West to do some tourist activities instead of hitting the race course as the wind is not expected to get above 4-5 kts all day.  One fun part of the week has been to see the Melges 32 team Celeritas sailing well, and taking their first bullet of the Melges 32 careers on Day 2.  After spending a few days of training with owner Malcolm Geftner and team on boathandling and heavy air sailing, it is great feeling to see their hard work pay off!  Keep it up! Stay tuned. Results.

Conchin’ Good Time »

January 16, 2012

One of biggest complaints from European and US teams at Key West in previous years was the early start times which had sailors headed to their boats in pre-dawn darkness and pushing off the dock just after sunset to prepare for a day of racing.  Throw in a late night on Duval Street, and by weeks end many of the teams had the look of a tourist from Alabama trying to figure out a jet-ski instead of a top notch racing program. The organizing authority relented this year, pushed the start time back to 11:30 which left plenty of time for an egg sandwich, mingling with friends on the dock and checking out the massive tarpon that lurk under the boats.  It even allowed me enough time to grab a spare life jacket from my boy Guy Mossman on Battle Rhythm, and in his typical unselfish fashion, gave me the large off his back knowing my man boobs would not squeeze into the only spare which was a small.   Whether it is rubbing elbows at a random bar, riding handle bars on a rented bike to the next fun location, or piecing things together to make it to the race course, it is good to have friends in KW.

Just as we saw in the practice days, the breeze settled in at the 15-22 range providing some fun conditions and with former Moth World Champ and Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Bora Gulari (good video) on the helm, our goal was to sail clean, avoid any majors and secure a top 3 finish. Despite being from Detroit and having to overcome that most of his life, Bora guided us two clean starts and we were able to make it around the track without any problems to secure a 1, 1 for the first day.  It wasn’t easy as we had to battle with Blu Moon and WTF in both races, and there are definitely some areas where we need to improve like our approaches to the leeward marks and changing our mode a bit quicker upwind with the changing pressure.

After a hard day of racing, we made our way back to our at condo at the Galleon which is about a 30 second walk to our boat.  With 5 sailors packed in a small place things can get a bit messy at times, and when the owner of New England Ropes which is a major sponsor of Bora’s program dropped in for a post race visit, we were caught a bit off guard and handed him a half-full jar of cheese dip, chip crumbs and a half filled beer and welcomed him to our impromptu sponsor party.  I think he was thankful only the on-the water photos are in his catalog.

Prior to leaving our condo this morning, we did a bit of wagering on the Melges 32 fleet as we have a front row seat for watching a world class fleet duke it out.  Samba cleaned up the day which put our tactician Jeremy Wilmot and bow girl Kelly Stannard tied for the top spots, and after putting all my chips in with a team that shall remain nameless who did not live up to my expecations, I am firmly in last place.  Clearly I need to do more to motivate my team.

Full Results.  Photos.

I Pledge Allegiance to the Conch Republic »

January 15, 2012

If Key West Race Week was a person, it would be the highly talented, heavily recruited football Quarterback that had all the fame and glory in H.S. and College, but woke up one morning at the beginning of their pro career, partied out and overweight wondering where all of the girls went (cue Todd Marinovich).   The fundamentals are all still in place, but the intangibles seem to be missing resulting in a lackluster product that has only a few more years show its true value before its legacy is washed away.

Just like a coach that sees potential in a gristled, veteran QB, Key West received a major shot in the arm when Doug DeVos and Quantum Racing stepped up to the plate to be the headlining sponsor of the event for 2012.  It would be a challenge to find a person who has been more charitable with growing the sport of sailing than Doug DeVos in the past few years, and in its 25th year with a rebounding economy the hope is that the numbers will begin to rise, and return Key West Race Week to its place as the premier event in the country.  Despite the low numbers the past few years, the racing is still the best to be found, and the lure of just being in Key West is what makes this event a must do for the die-hards.  The best part for me is taking a post-dinner stroll down Duval street and whether it is watching a tourist get bucked from a mechanical bull, or spotting a transvestite scooter parade, there is no shortage of entertainment in the southern most point in the US.

As for the event this year, there is a stacked fleet of 52 footers headlined by the World Champions on Quantum Racing, the 32 fleet is still going strong with their typical 20 strong entries, and for the 24 fleet which I will be sailing this year with current National Champ Bora Gulari, the numbers are not strong with only 15 boats, but the top 5 will be hard fought with Blu-Moon, WTF,  and Monsoon.  We have had a few solid days of breezy practice which was good for our boathandling, and a bit of a harsh reminder of the long week ahead of painful hiking. Our squad has had no problem gelling on and off the water and if we can sail as hard as we have been laughing to this point, we should be in good shape.

If checking the results of the 15 boat Melges 24 fleet doesnt get you excited, you can always check out Key West mugshots of those who “Came on vacation, left on probation.” When this event was rocking with 400+ sailors you would be guaranteed to get a few photos of Dad’s from Ohio who had a little too much fun at the Green Parrot, wiped out their scooters and ended up in a cell with the large number of vagrants and pirates who pledge their allegiance to the Conch Republic.  Or you can do a little reading the on the history of the Conch Republic, and particularly the Invasion of 1995 where Conch Republic citizens fended off a US Army vessel with a pile of stale cuban bread.

Scratch Sheet here.

 

 

 

Melges 20 Gold Cup Re-cap »

December 12, 2011

I still am not able to 100% percent put my finger on what makes racing the Audi Melges 20 so special, but after competing hard in the classes’ biggest event to date, against sailors that are on a short list of those most respected, there is a sense of being re-invigorated and appreciating all that can get lost in the regatta-to-regatta grind.  Hanging in the top part of the fleet in any race meant swapping blows upwind and down, having the guts to make a crossing call by inches and shooting the finish line overlapped with 3-4 boats. The 4 days of racing at the 2011 Melges 20 Gold Cup provided action that can not be found on a typical racecourse, and it helped to re-ignite a fire that had cooled from an up and down 2011 season.

Our squad on the M and M ended up losing some tight battles at the finish of a few races which cost us valuable points in the end, but as we put away our boat on the final day, there was a sense of, “that was fun and we can do better next time.”  We corrected a lot of our problems from the Nationals a few weeks ago, one of which was our starts and first beats, and after having a fire in our bellies to get off the line with a solid beat, we found ourselves most of the regatta in a good position at the first top mark.

But as we quickly learned, getting around the top mark in decent shape didn’t mean much as there was a hungry pack behind us looking to pounce at the slightest sign of weakness.  The biggest area we identified for improvement was the bottom third of the downwind legs, and our overall downwind “mode”. The end of the runs where steady breeze and an easy layline were hard to find cost us a lot of boats, and the biggest factor was not setting up on the correct side of traffic to get to the leeward gate that we wanted.  Sometimes it was a better to give up a boat or two in the short term to focus on the big picture, get around the correct gate cleanly and set up for the next up-wind.

Another critical area was exiting the first windward mark and being able to gybe when you wanted.  After everyone set at the first top mark, there was a line-up of 20+ boats extending on starboard, and it was a silent game of chicken as to who would gybe out first, sail across a large patch of bad air without getting jumped from the boats behind.  If you extended too far, you could get jumped by 10-12 boats and rolled, but if you gybed too early, you could miss out on the honey-hole in the corner which often had some good breeze.  The difference between looking like a wizard and a complete moron was just a few hundred feet.

The biggest take away from the weekend was the mental energy and focus that is required to execute every portion of the race.  Not just thinking a good start or setting up for the leeward gate is going to just happen, but thinking through each process and executing it well.   We improved from our last event, but there is still a lot of work to do on where we want to be.

As the for the event, we had a front row seat to watch the two Italian teams duke it out in the final race after being tied on points for the overall lead.  Wither several lead changes, it went down to the last hundred yards and B-Linsailing.com who had lead most of the regatta suffered a tough loss to a well sailed team on Stig.  Thanks to Mary Anne for another great week of sailing on M and M.  And to PRO Bruce Gollison and the Coconut Grove Sailing Club for an awesome event. Overall results.  Great video highlights from Day 4.

Hard Yards »

December 8, 2011

With 40 Melges 20s spread out over Biscayne Bay, establishing yourself in the front group is not easy and if you do get there, gains and losses were exchanged rapidly.  The best option throughout the day was to put the blinders on to what was happening on the other side of the course and focus on your own area, and having the ability to catch the last shift into the mark was the biggest difference maker.  The nice, steady 12-14 that the forecast called for never materialized, and we were left with a 7-12 Northerly breeze that was swinging through 50 degrees.

Our first 2 races on M and M were good enough to be considered keepers, however the third race of the day, we found ourselves OCS and staring at a lot of transoms when we re-rounded.  Catching back to mid-fleet was a good effort, but having to utilize a throwout this early was not in our gameplan.  A quick look at the top 15 boats shows that everyone had a deep finish, and we need to do our best to stay behind the line and continue to allow our new found speed go to work.

Time for sleep….full results.  3 long races scheduled on Friday.

Melges 20 Gold Cup: Fuzzy Italians and a Good Poker Face »

December 7, 2011

Just 2 years ago the Melges 20 was a brand new, fresh class and for the first winter series event 10 boats were in attendance, and of those 10, at least 4 of them were basically handed out to get on the starting line.  Fast forward to today as we sit on the eve the of the 2nd Melges 20 Gold Cup, there are 40 boats registered spanning 3 countries and some of the top names in sailing are here to compete on Biscayne Bay.  Growth like this does not happen in most classes, but with a formula of providing a simple boat with great racing at awesome venues, people just want to be a part of it.

There are several noticeable changes from last year’s winter circuit outside of the increase in boats.  First is the strong presence of cigarettes and fast talking fuzzy Italians in the boat yard who have come over to claim the Gold Cup title.  The Melges 20 has exploded in Italy, and there are at least 10 teams here who are enjoying the Miami sun and looking to show the American teams what sailing a Melges 20 is all about.  Secondly is the sharing of information as the tuning of the Melges 20 has seen dramatic changes over the past year.  Just like NASCAR when a driver says he has a good or bad car during the race, new tuning and set-ups have been experimented with since early this summer and the results have been dramatic with teams like Michael Kiss’ Bacio being noticeable faster, while others are left to scratch their heads and attempt to glean as much info from the quick boats as possible.

Call it getting complacent, but after having decent results last winter on M and M and feeling good about our ability to hang with the top group, I was confident we had a good handle on our rig-tune settings and it was just a matter of execution to do well in an event.  After the Nationals a few weeks ago, it did not take long to figure out we were well off the pace from the front group, and we needed to do some serious research on how to fix the problem.  The best way to try to get up to speed with your competitors is to simply ask, and the main topic of discussion was the disparity in the mast rake measurement as the top boats are raking much further aft which we were clearly not doing.

When asking around, some teams are very forthcoming with information knowing that if they give your their tuning numbers, they are still confident in their ability to execute better.  Others teams however are a bit more hesitant to reveal their settings often triggering a conversation that goes something like this over a few post race beers:

Me: “You were going pretty fast today, what are you setting your mast rake at these days?”

Fast guys: “Well, we try to keep our rake right around 30 ft, zzzzzggnnnzz inches.”

Me:  “I’m sorry, you trailed off at the end there, I didn’t catch that…”

Fast guys: “Yeah, we are running our rake at 30 ft, ahhhuhhh inches…”

Me:  “I didn’t hear that, you coughed at the end there, can you repeat it one more time?”

Fast guys: “I need to grab another beer, you need one?”

It sometimes takes a good poker face to try and understand if someone is giving you accurate information, if they are in the ballpark, or if they are totally bs’ing you.  Other than asking people is to experiment with speed testing prior to the event.  We feel we have done a good job of getting a handle on some new numbers and feel good about our speed heading into the first day of racing on Thursday.  Of course, you never really know until the starting gun goes off.

4 days of racing are scheduled.  Crew lists and up to date results here.

 

 

Open and Shut »

December 5, 2011

Having the opportunity to battle it out in conditions that we experienced over the past 3 days is what makes people forget about all the regattas of no wind, rain, fog, cold or any undesirable conditions.  It seemed like each morning as we made our way to the racecourse, the breeze was fresher than the day before and the waves bigger, triggering a private conversation of, “this is going to be fun….I hope this goes well….Is my lifejacket zipped….Are there great whites in Ft. Lauderdale…is this what a 20ft wave looks like…lets get racing.”  The 2011 Gold Cup will go down as one of truly great Melges 32 events, and just like the conditions over the weekend, I’m sure its legend will grow bigger.

Headed into Sunday, our team on Volpe had small window to catch Warpath who had suffered an OCS the previous day.  Shortly after our first start, Warpath stumbled off the line and had to spin a circle placing them squarely in last place.  With a good combination of feeling no pain from the night before and staying cool under pressure, they did a great job of putting themselves in a position to catch boats as we raced around the track to finish 3rd.  Shortly before their finish, Warpath was able to pass 4 boats on their last gybe and instead of being tied with us going into the last race, they now had a 5 pt lead.

We both had average starts in the last race and it looked like we were even headed up the beat, but as we approached the top mark we got hung up in traffic and Warpath was able to get around clean, set their kite and establish themselves in the front group while we couldn’t escape the grasp of the mid-fleeters. Our small window of opportunity was quickly shut after it was opened as Warpath took 2nd in the race and we battled hard for 8th.

There are tons of great photos on the Melges 32 website and be sure to check out some onboard footage from our team on the last day…keep an eye on our pit-man Adam Burns who snags his foot in the spin sheet and tries to free himself during a hectic douse.  Big thanks to the DeVos family for an awesome weekend of sailing, and to the team on Volpe that is always fun to sail with.  Full results.  Off to Miami for the 40 boat Melges 20 Gold Cup…

 

Glimmer of Hope »

December 3, 2011

There was a buzz around the Bahia Mar Hotel and Marina as the forecast that was calling for 20-25 and gusts higher had clearly arrived judging by the bent over palm trees and flags standing vertical.  The annual tradition of take a junior sailing on the Saturday of the Gold Cup was ditched out of concern for the juniors…not a bad idea considering we talked about implementing the buddy system on our boat.   Most boats pushed back their dock-off time back 45 minutes to save the sails and limit damage to the boats in the 6-8 ft pounding waves, and as we made our way to the race course the boats that decided to try practicing with their spinnakers quickly ended up on their sides.  Our team on Volpe knew we needed to sharpen up our program if we were going to sail clean and hang with a red hot team on Warpath.

The RC set the starting/finish line a few hundred yards off the beach just south of Ft. Lauderdale, so if you had an issue getting the kite down at the leeward mark or finish, you would need to sort it out quickly or it wouldn’t be long before you were watching the races from a nice spot on the sand.  After the conclusion of the first race and a hard fought battle with Warpath and Samba, we watched as the talented group on Samba had a drop go bad, shrimped their kite and did some damage to their mainsail and wind instruments at the top of the mast.  After a few close calls ourselves yesterday, we knew the dangers well of putting the kite in the water.  Samba had to retire for the day, and we would later learn that Warpath was OCS and did not return to clear themselves turning our 3rd into a 2nd.

The remainder of the day, we stuck to our gameplan of starting in a clear area at the boat end of the line, sailing fast upwind and down, and getting the kite back into the boat without error to round out the day with a 2, 4, 4.  When we dropped the kite for the final time and headed in for the day, there was a sense of relief as our white knuckled downwind rides were finished without any majors, and the only concern for the remainder of the day was navigating the hotel lobby through a sea of excited people who looked like they had just been let out of a Bernie Mac show.  The forecast is for the same breeze as today and our hope headed into the final day with 2 races remaining is that Warpath will falter, and we will be able to continue our trend of solid finishes.  Full results.